Mistletoe was thought by people in medieval times to cast a romantic spell on those who stood under it. Perhaps some has been hanging over airline executive offices recently.

Today's Wall Street Journal reports on the recent escalation of airline consolation talks. UAL Corp., the parent of United Airlines, is interested in merging with Continental Airlines. US Airways Group Inc. has made a hostile bid for Delta Air Lines Inc. And AirTran Holdings Inc. proposed yesterday to acquire all the outstanding common stock of Midwest Air Group Inc.

AirTran claims that the merger would generate more than $60 million in yearly savings and create an airline with $3 billion in revenue in 2007. But here may be their real motive: Midwest has made itself popular through its fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

Corporate mergers are always going to be a topic of conversation in the airline industry, with the prospect of combining services and aircraft fleets while decreasing costs. "Friendly" and "hostile" take-over bids are nothing new to most businesses in recent years. Banks seem to change names and affiliations annually, and telecommunications companies buy and sell each other for breakfast.

The consolation of competitors was one of the primary motives behind Christmas as well. Racial prejudice was epidemic in the ancient world. For instance, Gentiles despised Jews, and Israel returned the favor. They believed that God made Gentiles only so there would be firewood in hell. They forbade their women to help Gentile women in childbirth lest another Gentile be brought into the world. They would not eat Gentile food or enter Gentile homes. The antipathy between the two peoples was staggering.

It is therefore a shocking thing to note the global nature of Jesus' birth. He chose a Galilean family but a Judean birthplace, bridging the gap between the two conflicted cultures. He invited shepherds to his celebration, even though they could not keep kosher laws and were barred from synagogue and Temple. He welcomed the worship of Persian astrologers, even though they typified the pagan superstitions so despised by the Jews. His love is still all-inclusive: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Galatians 3:28-29).

Why do you need the consolidating, unconditional love of Jesus this morning?

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